DEVOTIONAL INSIGHTS & REFLECTIONS

God is Omnipresent - November 11 (Veteran's Day in the USA)

God is always with us --- in sowing and reaping, seedtime and harvest; but we must be willing and obedient to follow His lead.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. ~Psalm 23:1-6 {A Psalm of David.}

(See also Ezekiel 34:11-24; John 10:1-21.)

At all times, we need to inquire of God---especially in times of difficulty.

In Genesis, Chapter 26, Verse 1, we see that Isaac (son of Abraham/son of promise), was faced with famine. "...And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines." (Isaac was a shepherd with great flocks and herds.)

And Verse 2: "At that time, the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I will tell you." Verse 3: "Dwell temporarily in this land, and I will be with you and will favor you with blessings; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father."

We see that God was speaking to and guiding Isaac as to where to dwell "temporarily" and with favor and blessing and where not to dwell. In the place where God told him to dwell temporarily, there was a promise.

Let's look at Genesis 26:12&13, remembering this is a time of famine in the land Isaac and company were traversing and being led by the Almighty God, Isaac was obediently albeit "temporarily" dwelling in one place: "Then Isaac sowed seed in that land and received in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted, and the Lord favored him with blessings. And the man became great and gained more and more until he became very wealthy and distinguished."

God likes to distinguish His people from those who are not serving Him. It is in a place where we are distinguished that we will also have great influence. People respect success. God not only wants to lead, train and develop His people, but he wants them to be distinguished and have great influence in dwellings of obedience.

I am reminded of Isaiah 1:19, where the Lord says: "If ye are willing and obedient, ye shall eat the fat of the land."

Notice that Isaac "sowed" in a time of famine. In today's world, sometimes it's hard to wrap your head around that... When money is tight, the tendency is to hold onto it. But if we will continue to sow, even in times of famine, I believe we will reap a great harvest.

Remember, the scriptures also say that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17)

...And He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11)----in other words, personality does not necessarily win His favor. What He did for His servant Isaac, He will do for you when you are in that "dwelling place" of obedience and sowing in a time of famine. He will give you favor even as He favored His servants of old.

Live in obedience and pray for favor----remind God of His Word (He loves that), and then expect in faith to receive His favor.

May God be with you today!